TheCable

Yusuf Tuggar, minister of foreign affairs, says there is a need to democratise the United Nations (UN) security council because it is “clumsy and not working”.

Tuggar spoke at a parley in Davos, Switzerland, on the side of the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting.

He said the values of democracy – such as the rule of law – should be replicated in the world’s highest decision organs.

Tuggar said the UN security council as constituted is not leaving up to its purpose.

“What we have to do is collectively practice what we preach. The values that we uphold – democracy, rule of law – need to be practised, and we need to see them being practised in the very decision-making bodies or entities for the planet,” the minister said.

“So, to begin with, the UN Security Council needs to be democratized. Clearly, it is not fit for purpose.

“We should do away with the veto powers on the UN Security Council; clearly, it’s clumsy and not working. Again, when you look at the global security architecture, it is impacted by such undemocratic entities that influence decisions.

“We have a situation where, in the past, during the bipolar world, there was neutral ground for diplomats to engage, allowing diplomacy to resolve issues, preempt conflicts, and diffuse them. Unfortunately, we don’t have that anymore.

“We are increasingly seeing a situation where diplomats and diplomacy are taking the backseat, and disagreements are being securitized.”

Tuggar expressed dismay that security chiefs and defence policymakers are taking the front seat in world security issues.

“Of course, for the guy with the hammer, everything is a nail,” he said.